The concise history of the 10 deadliest cyclones in Bangladesh

As the cyclonic storm "Hamoon" has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm over the northwest Bay and adjoining west-central Bay and moved northeastward, it may cross the Barishal-Chattogram coast near Bhola by tomorrow morning to noon, said Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) on Tuesday (24 October). 

The Met Office has asked the maritime ports of Payra and Chattogram to hoist danger signals no seven and six for Cox's Bazar and five for Mongla due to the severe cyclonic storm. Meanwhile, the government has also directed locals who might be in danger due to the storm.

As the country prepares for the cyclone, let us take a look at  10 of the deadliest cyclones that hit Bangladesh -

1. 1970 Bhola Cyclone: This severe cyclonic storm hit the then East Pakistan (present Bangladesh) and West Bengal of India in 1970. With a death toll of 500,000 people, it is considered the highest to date.

2. The Great Backerganj Cyclone of 1876: Spanned from 19 October-1 November of 1876, this severe cyclonic storm hit the coast of Backerganj (near Meghna estuary in present-day Barishal) and parts of India of the British Empire with the fatality of around 200,000 people.

3. 1897 Chattogram Cyclone: The cyclonic storm killed around 175,000 people and swept over coastal villages. It was followed by the epidemic of cholera in our country, which killed about 18,000 people.

4. 1991 Bangladesh Cyclone:  Spanned from 31 May- 2nd June of 1991. The super cyclonic storm hit the offshore Islands and Char of Patuakhali, Barishal, Chattogram and Noakhali with a maximum wind speed of 110 km per hour. The fatality rate was around 140,000 people with damage of approximately $1.5 billion.

5. December 1965 cyclone: The cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 217 km per hour struck Cox Bazaar, adjacent coastal areas and Patuakhali on 15 December; and took the lives of around 19,279 people.

6. 1963 cyclone (28-29 May): This severe cyclonic storm hit Noakhali, Cox's Bazaar and offshore islands Saandeep, Kutubdiya, Maheshkhali and Hatiya, with a maximum wind speed of 223 km per hour. It claimed the lives of around 11,520 people and caused massive destruction of properties.

7. 1961 Cyclone: The severe cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 161 km per hour and surge 2.44-3.05m hit the Bagerhat and Khulna district on 9 May 1961. It caused a fatality rate of around 11,468 people.

8. 1985 cyclone (24th-25th May): The severe cyclonic storm that struck the country with a maximum wind speed of 154km per hour in Chattogram took the lives of around 11,000 people.

9. 1988 Cyclone 04B: The severe cyclonic storm that hit the coastal areas with a maximum wind speed of 162 km per hour along with a storm surge of 4.5 meters. It claimed the lives of around 11, 708 people.

10. 1960 Cyclone: This severe cyclonic storm struck the country with a maximum wind speed of 210 km per hour and took the lives of around 5,149 people. 

Among all the cyclone recorded, The Great Bhola Cyclone, which moved towards Former East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) on 11 November, 1970, is still considered the deadliest, with a massive death toll of 5 lakh people.

In addition to the cyclones mentioned above, Sidr (15 November, 2007), Aila (25 May, 2007), Mahasen (16 May, 2013), Roanu (21 May, 2016) are some of the cyclones which struck Bangladesh in recent years. Among them, Cyclone Sidr caused the highest death and took the lives of 3,363 people.